Padraig Harrington no longer plays full-time on the PGA Tour, now playing primarily on the Champions Tour, but Shane Lowry said he misses the older Irishman, saying so after Harrington’s loss at the British Open.
Lawrie was leading the tournament after 36 holes, but had a disastrous third round loss by three strokes despite being three strokes ahead.
The high score haunted him, and while he was thinking about it Saturday night, his friends supported him, including Harrington, who offered words of encouragement to Lawrie and gave him an earful.
“Padraig was trying to tell me positive stories but I tried not to listen,” Lawrie said with a laugh. “I said to the players, ‘That’s why we’re going to miss Paddy on the tour.'”
“I’m going to miss his positivity and his great personality. He really helped me out last night. Today I turned my phone off, was with the people around me, and tried to go out and do my best, and I did.”
Photo: Pedro Salado/Getty Images
But Harrington says it wasn’t a pep talk — he just happened to be in close proximity to Lawrie and his team.
“We just chatted. Not at all,” Harrington said Sunday. “He had his crew with him and I sat down for a while and we talked about stuff. I don’t think he needed me and I didn’t need to be there, but that doesn’t mean I’m prepared to lecture anybody.”
The 52-year-old is a two-time Open champion but has had his own share of heartbreak, so seemed ready to give Lawrie whatever he wanted.
They’ve bonded and built a relationship as Irishmen and maybe through the Ryder Cup. Lawrie’s comments about missing Harrington on tour show how close they are. A round like Saturday can be a confidence killer, so having a player like the veteran there must have worked to Lawrie’s advantage.
Lawrie went in on Sunday and shot a 3-under 68 to finish in sixth place and win alone. It’s not the same as taking home the Claret Jug, but it took a big accomplishment and an inner victory to get up the leaderboard on Sunday. It was frustrating to lose after playing well the first two days, but that’s just how golf goes.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
